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Padres manager Bud Black conceded Monday that Will Middlebrooks has "put himself in a good position" to be the starting third baseman.

Middlebrooks is batting .333 (15-for-45) with two homers, two doubles, and a .911 OPS across 16 games in Cactus League action, which should be good enough to beat out Yangervis Solarte for the gig. We don't expect him to hit for a high batting average, but his pop could give him some value in deeper fantasy leagues. Mar 30 - 4:58 PM

Will Middlebrooks continued his assault on Cactus League pitching on Friday, going 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 7-5 victory over the Rockies.

While manager Bud Black has yet to make a formal announcement, all signs indicate that Middlebrooks has won the starting job at third base over Yangervis Solarte. With the two-hit effort, he's hitting .341 (15-for-44) with two homers and eight RBI in spring play. Mar 28 - 1:36 AM

Will Middlebrooks went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Monday's win against the Cubs.

Middlebrooks broke a 0-0 tie in the second inning with a blast to left field off of Edwin Jackson. The Padres' new third base candidate put up a paltry .522 OPS and still has to beat out Yangervis Solarte for the right to start. Mar 9 - 7:30 PM

Padres manager Bud Black said in an interview Tuesday that Will Middlebrooks could see some starts at first base against tough left-handers.

Yonder Alonso is slated for first base duty versus righties, but with a career .240/.305/.344 line versus southpaws, it's wise to give him a platoon partner. Those duties, at least to some degree, apparently could fall to Middlebrooks, though Tommy Medica also figures to be in the mix. Black hasn't officially named Middlebrooks the starter at third base yet; he has to beat out Yangervis Solarte. Jan 6 - 6:55 PM

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Will Middlebrooks continued his assault on Cactus League pitching on Friday, going 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 7-5 victory over the Rockies.

While manager Bud Black has yet to make a formal announcement, all signs indicate that Middlebrooks has won the starting job at third base over Yangervis Solarte. With the two-hit effort, he's hitting .341 (15-for-44) with two homers and eight RBI in spring play.

Will Middlebrooks went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Monday's win against the Cubs.

Middlebrooks broke a 0-0 tie in the second inning with a blast to left field off of Edwin Jackson. The Padres' new third base candidate put up a paltry .522 OPS and still has to beat out Yangervis Solarte for the right to start.

Padres manager Bud Black said in an interview Tuesday that Will Middlebrooks could see some starts at first base against tough left-handers.

Yonder Alonso is slated for first base duty versus righties, but with a career .240/.305/.344 line versus southpaws, it's wise to give him a platoon partner. Those duties, at least to some degree, apparently could fall to Middlebrooks, though Tommy Medica also figures to be in the mix. Black hasn't officially named Middlebrooks the starter at third base yet; he has to beat out Yangervis Solarte.

Padres acquired INF Will Middlebrooks from the Red Sox for C Ryan Hanigan.

The 26-year-old slugger has lost a bit of the luster off his top prospect status in recent years, but still possesses plenty of power and should be locked in as the Padres starter at the hot corner. The move from Fenway to Petco certainly diminishes his potential fantasy value though.

Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reports that the Padres are closing in on a deal that would send Ryan Hanigan to the Red Sox for Will Middlebrooks.

The Padres' re-tooling continues. Middlebrooks is just a career .237/.284/.411 hitter, but he's slugged 34 homers over 894 plate appearances and gives San Diego more right-handed power potential. The Padres can now put Yangervis Solarte in a utility role where he belongs. Hanigan will share catching duties with Christian Vazquez in Boston.

Middlebrooks appeared in only 63 games this season due to injuries and the Red Sox were hoping that he'd be open to making up for lost time in a Caribbean league, but the 26-year-old wants to focus on getting healthy so he'll opt for a winter of rest instead. "He feels he can address what he needs to address without playing winter ball. That’s a decision that he’s made," Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said Monday. Middlebrooks batted just .191/.256/.265 in 2014 and is not a lock to open the 2015 campaign as Boston's starting third baseman.

Middlebrooks is still dealing with pain in right hand as a result of a hit by pitch back in May. It's still possible that he could play at some point this weekend, but the Red Sox will obviously proceed cautiously.

Will Middlebrooks went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and an RBI single as the Red Sox went on to a 6-3 victory over the Royals on Thursday.

A big game for Middlebrooks, who has been dreadful at the plate since returning from a fractured index finger. Dating back to August 1, Middlebrooks compiled a .427 OPS in 115 plate appearances entering Thursday. On the season, he's slashing .189/.257/.270.

Middlebrooks' batting line has sunk to an awful .183/.251/.268, and since he's also had an injury-shortened season the Red Sox feel he needs all the at-bats he can get. It's ultimately the third baseman's choice whether he plays or not, but it seems likely that he'll agree to the team's wishes.

Will Middlebrooks went 2-for-5 with three RBI in a loss to the Mariners on Sunday.

Middlebrooks came up with the bases loaded in the first inning and delivered a two-run single. His third inning RBI double chased Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma. Games like Sunday's remind what Middlebrooks is capable of, but the third baseman is hitting just .198/.281/.298 in what has been a lost season.

Will Middlebrooks (hamstring) went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Friday against the Mariners in his return to the starting lineup.

Middlebrooks missed back-to-back starts after leaving Tuesday's game with right hamstring tightness, but he came off the bench to play the final six innings on Thursday and felt well enough to start Friday. The 25-year-old is batting just .187/.270/.285 with two home runs over 37 games with the Red Sox this season.

Josh Johnson threw off a mound Monday for the first time since Tommy John elbow surgery.

It was a 20-pitch, fastball-only bullpen session. Johnson is trying to make it back from a second Tommy John reconstructive elbow procedure and probably won't be ready for live games until May. The right-hander is not worth a gamble in standard fantasy leagues.

Cory Luebke (elbow) said that he felt great after Sunday's bullpen session.

"It felt like my old arm again" Luebke noted after the 30-pitch session. He'll repeat the same process again in 3-4 days and is still at least a month away from facing live hitters. The 30-year-old hurler is working his way back from a second Tommy John surgery and isn't expected to rejoin the Padres until midseason.